Saint Mary men’s basketball picked No. 1 in preseason polls

If the past five days were signs of things to come for the University of Saint Mary men’s basketball team, the next five months could truly be special.Over the weekend, preseason accolades from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference began streaming in for the Spires. On Friday, three USM senior guards — JEB Greenberg, Kevin Harvey and Jordan Wilcox — were selected to the 2012-13 Preseason All-KCAC Men’s Basketball Team.“Those guys have earned all the recognition they have gotten coming into this season as well as what they got last year,” Spires coach Jon Bishop said. “They are three deserving young men who show up every day and work their butts off.”Then on Tuesday, the entire Saint Mary squad was honored when it was picked No. 1 in the both the coaches and media 2012-13 KCAC Men’s Preseason Polls.“It’s something we’ve talked about ever since we got back to school with our returners and our new guys that we have to come out ready to play each and every single night,” Bishop said of the attention that comes with being No. 1. “I feel we are prepared for that.”The 2012-13 KCAC Women’s Preseason Polls were released as well on Tuesday, where the Lady Spires were picked No. 5 by the media and No. 8 by the coaches.Of the three Spires chosen for the All-KCAC men’s basketball squad, Greenberg was an unanimous selection — one of five. The senior was a KCAC first-team selection in 2011-12, as well as an NAIA All-American. Harvey, last year’s KCAC Newcomer of the year, and 2011-12 honorable mention selection Wilcox gave USM three of the 10 players recognized by the conference’s coaches.The Saint Mary men will begin its season Oct. 25 with a home exhibition against Livin’ The Dream, while the Lady Spires open the new year on Oct. 23 at the Blue Devil Jamboree in Kansas City, Kan.“I think as a program, it helps put us to a place where we aren’t just fighting and scratching for respect every year,” Bishop said. “We’ve worked hard as a staff to get the program to that point, but it’s the players that you bring in and their accomplishments that deliver it.”